Katter’s Australian Party Queensland MP Shane Knuth, the MP for the Hill electorate, has called for the introduction of regulated public land hunting in the state as part of efforts to tackle the growing feral pest animal crisis.
Speaking in Queensland Parliament on 9 December, Mr Knuth told Environment Minister Andrew Powell that the $10m recently allocated for feral pest management in the state would “barely scratch the surface” and called for a more hands-on approach involving the large number of licensed firearms owners in Queensland.
“When will the government get serious, listen to regional Queenslanders and adopt the highly successful New South Wales licensing model that safely allows registered recreational shooters to hunt feral pigs in state forests and national parks?” Mr Knuth asked.
Mr Powell’s response acknowledged the severity of the feral animal population in Queensland and the issues facing landholders as a result, and reiterated the LNP Government’s commitment to more rangers and being ‘better neighbours’ to landowners adjoining state land, but stopped short of a commitment to investigate implementing an R-licence hunting system such as found in NSW, or a game licence system such as the one Victoria uses.
This is despite the NSW R-licence system being a significant contributor to the NSW state economy, with figures from the Department of Primary Industries showing hunting contributes more to the state economy than the wool industry.
The proposal has the support of both Shooters Union Australia and the Australian Pig Doggers & Hunters Association (APDHA), both of whom have declared their willingness to be involved with a similar regulated hunting scheme in Queensland.
Shooters Union Australia president Graham Park said there was no question that licensed, regulated hunting had enormous economic and biosecurity benefits, as well as general health, wellbeing and tourism benefits, too.
“There is decades of diamond-hard evidence from NSW and Victoria that regulated public land hunting is a massive economic boon to the state, poses absolutely no public safety risk whatsoever, and makes a real difference to feral pest animal numbers,” he said.
“A NSW Department of Primary Industry report shows that in 2022, hunting in the state was, as a whole, worth almost $509m and crated 4192 full-time equivalent jobs.
“That is, essentially, more than half a billion dollars in completely free money on top of several thousand jobs, mostly in rural areas of the state.”
APDHA president Ned Makim said the organisation was very excited to see Mr Knuth’s suggestion and wholeheartedly supported the concept.
“The working model that has delivered so much for NSW in economic and environmental terms is almost directly transferable to Queensland,” he said.
“Indeed the success of the NSW model was discussed in detail this week in the NSW inquiry to access to public land and waterways with specific reference to its exemplary safety.
“We’re ready, willing and able to talk to the Minister or anyone else with an interest in this about how the system works from a hunter management perspective.
“To us, it’s a win-win for everybody.”
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